Speaking at the Landmark on Lee in downtown Greenville, Perry discussed the five main points of the compact, which focus on truth-in-budgeting, stricter limits on spending, no higher taxes, maintaining a healthy rainy day reserve fund and cutting of wasteful programs.

Perry said for too long in the Texas budgeting process legislators have allowed dollars to be spent on things that have been sold to the public for something else.

“Have a clear instruction to the budgeting process,” Perry said. “We’re going to spend the money for what we said we were going to use it for. And if you’re not going to use it for that purpose don’t raise the money to begin with.”

He wants to make the small business tax exemption permanent, questioning why small businesses should even have to come back every two years to ask the exemption to be kept in place.

“Let’s make this permanent. A permanent $1 million exemption for small businesses where they know in four years they can hire people today, they can expend money to expand their business, what have you. And that tax exemption is going to be in place.”

Perry also stressed that the rainy day fund should be used for a one-time expense such as a disaster, rather than ongoing expenses.